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Re: Beware of Betterbee

Originally Posted by FindlayBee

I would think they would at least send another one to replace it.

Were I the person receiving the call at BB, and I were authorized to, I would have sent the buyer a brand new inspected fork right away at no additional cost. What's the cost of a fork compared to a valued customer. Especially compared to a dissatisfied customer. It's just good business.

Re: Beware of Betterbee

You sound like you are doing open heart surgery. Short tines on your fork, nicks on the uncapping knife. For Pete' sake, you are uncapping honey combs, not doing a circumcision. When you scrap cappings you are doing just that, scrapping and ripping into soft wax and honey. Even 1/8" difference in tine length would not make any difference. When uncapping, you are often hit exposed frame nails and wires. That knife will be a lot more nicked after a few hundred frames. Customers like you give being a retailer a bad taste.

Re: Beware of Betterbee

Re: Beware of Betterbee

I really had to look hard to see the unequal length of one tine and I am not sure that it is a problem at all. I think that it is good policy for Betterbee to charge a restocking fee especially for this return. Sorry, but the pictures you shared don't warrent a problem. Maybe the customer service could have been handled better.

Re: Beware of Betterbee

I started this thread and I am not the one who posted pictures. It was uncapping fork I mentioned and last year I used the same style for nearly 1000lbs of honey. I think it's produces a cleaner honey and I love doing it and I can assure all that having one tine shorter than the rest would be problematic.

But this post was about the poor customer service I received from Betterbee.

Betterbee

I have never been that happy with Betterbee's service. Most recently I tried to order two stainless steel acorn nuts with metric threads for my extractor. They told me they don't carry the part. I asked for information on the manufacturer and they told me to go to a hardward store.

Re: Betterbee

A solution, information on precisely what size nut to order. Otherwise, going the hardware store requires taking the entire top assembly of the extractor as the bolts are permanently attached to the latter.

Re: Betterbee

I too have experienced some frustration in my business dealing with Betterbee. No need to rehash my experiences because I have happily found a solution to this particular frustration. However, I deal with several different bee supply companies. I guess under normal conditions of how each company is run, different companies would produce different levels of service and experiences. My sincere questions for fellow keepers are;
Has anyone received similar “frustrations” from any of the other bee supply companies?
To answer my own question here- I would be hard pressed to find any kind of complaint about any of the other companies I deal with
Not to defend anyone- are we just piling up on Betterbee? I’m just asking on this one because I as I said earlier, I have had similar problems with them.
Does anyone have a theory on why there seem to be this level of disconcern by this particular company?

Re: Betterbee

I had a bad experience with them too. I ordered labels 6 months ago anticipating needing them this summer. When I opened the box they were the wrong size, and I think it was Betterbee's error. Over the phone they were unsympathetic and inflexible about their 30 day return policy. Not a big deal but VERY poor customer service and a calalier attitude. I told them they had lost a long-time customer and they seemed to care less. I would not recommend doing business with them to anyone. There are plenty of companies out there that offer good service.

Re: Beware of Betterbee

Wish I would have read this thread before I place a $800.00 order with Betterbee. I just received an email saying my hive boxes and frames were on backorder. I called to have the rest of my shipment sent out. When I asked if they had a clue when i could expect to see my backordered items, the sales rep said "I have no idea". When I asked if they would at least be in by the end of the year, he didn't know. The kicker is......They make the product in HOUSE!!! and you can't give me a rough idea!!!??? I cancelled my order, called Mann Lake LTD.....I received the best customer service around, super friendly with free shipping to boot!

Re: Beware of Betterbee

That is exactly what I am talking about. I finally found a place to order that metric caps nuts for my extractor (the ones they told me I could get in a harware store) but not until I took the entire top of the extractor to a friend in a machine shop to determine the size. BetterBee was absolutely no help. I had stopped ordering from them several years ago for this reason, but had forgotten how indifferent they were to their customers needs. I think this is reflective of the ownership because my earlier experiences were with different employees. I will be buying a motorized extractor next year and you can be sure it will not be from BetterBee.

I found both Mann Lake and Dadant to be very professional and they ship right away.

Re: Beware of Betterbee

Hmmmm... Everytime I've talked to them about woodenware they have refered to "their supplier" and I have a box out in the shop that frames came in (That I had to go look at to be sure), and it says "Made in Canada" on the side of it. Hmmmm.. Must be just the cardboard box that is "Made in Canada".

Re: Beware of Betterbee

Honey is correct; Their equipment is not made in house. They may make it locally at another location or it may be subbed out... That I have been unable to determine.

Somebody posted a few months ago that they where completely out of woodenware, surely they should have resolved the issue by now.

The only issue I have had with them is that they completely lack any sort of customer service skills... I don't call them anymore because you might as well be talking to a door if you have any questions. They also employ a bunch of teen age kids who have no idea about anything to do with bees; so walking into the store can be frustrating as well.

With large clubs; I am surprised no one has started forming co-ops for equipment... With the state of the building trades it would be pretty easy to find a wood shop willing to produce all the woodenware a club would want, all the non-wood items could be purchased from china just like the supply houses do... and then order the foundation from Kelley in large quantities, or cough up the 60 or so K for a foundation molder.